Warning: This is based off a manga called Sengoku Strays. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!

[Narration]

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"English speech."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar. It will be in bold if it's English.

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Previously:

"Hmph, I'd like to see your country someday. It sounds interesting." Nobunaga told Ayako, smirking. Ayako's world was so diverse and open... just like how he wanted his Japan to be. Ayako sweat dropped and smiled wryly. She knew Nobunaga was only half serious since he knew that she came from the future and her 'world' didn't exist yet, but the look on his face clearly said 'let me loose, and I'll paint the town red.' Modern Japan and America wouldn't stand a chance against the wild young lord.

=End Flashback Mode=

... And so, that was how my first three days in the Sengoku era went. Pretty eventful, huh? I thought stuff like this only happened in mangas and animes... (^_^;)

'Hmph, 'eventful' my ass!' Isshin thought, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. Ayako had just calmly written that she had a near death experience on her first night there. 'Good thing I'm a monk, because I have a feeling I'm going to go bald by the time I'm done reading this...' Isshin thought, chagrined. Their temple was a little different, since the head priest didn't have to shave his head like the other monks, but he really wouldn't be shocked if all his hair fell out from stressing out over all of Ayako's little misadventures... at the very least, he was already starting to go gray. 'And that damn Nobunaga's lucky that he's already dead in this era, because he'd be in for a world of hurt for harassing my niece like that!' Isshin thought angrily as he flipped to the next page in Ayako's diary and began reading again.

So, that brings us to today's events, my third day in the Sengoku. Gorouza was right about the hot spring, because I was completely recovered when I woke up today! Yaay~! \(^o^)/ Unfortunately, that meant I had to do a ridiculous amount of chores since I was well enough to work. (¬_¬;)

RING! RING! RING!

The phone was ringing in the kitchen, down the hall from his room.

Isshin sighed as he put the diary down and left to answer it. This had better be good.

"Hello." Isshin said brusquely, frowning as he answered the phone.

"Why, good afternoon to you too, Isshin-sama!" Kinoshita said sarcastically from the other end of the phone. Kinoshita wasn't really mad though, he was used to Isshin's grumpiness, and he knew the priest had been extra down since Ayako's disappearance a few days ago. "You've probably guessed it already, but I'm calling about the results for that fragment of paper you sent in to me... where exactly did you find it again?" Kinoshita asked curiously.

"The old storehouse. Stop waffling and get to the point, Kinoshita." Isshin said bluntly. He didn't need him snooping around too much and finding out about the extraordinary circumstances about Ayako's disappearance and her diary.

"Oh, right—anyway, not only did the test results end up showing that the paper and ink for this document's scrap are about five-hundred years old, but the handwriting matches a sample I saw in an ancient document of the Oda Nobunaga! I can't believe you had something like this hiding in your storehouse! It's a shame it was damaged to the point where this is all that was left..." Kinoshita said excitedly. Isshin had ripped one of the kanji characters that Nobunaga had written into the book to have it tested, since Ayako's handwriting would be recognized right away, but he hadn't expected Kinoshita to actually know what Nobunaga's handwriting looked like... this could be bad. Kinoshita was huge Nobunaga fan.

"Oh, that's nice. Just go ahead and keep it then, you crazy otaku." Isshin grumbled.

"Can I!?" Kinoshita yelled excitedly, beyond joyful, and entering the territory of sickeningly happy.

"Yeah, just as long as I don't have to hear you gushing about how great it is. If you bug me about it, I'll come over there and burn it." Isshin said, feeling annoyed already as he hung up the phone without waiting to hear the other man's answer. Isshin ran a hand through his hair as he sighed resignedly. Ayako really had traveled back in time... but at least it sounded like she would be coming back, since Nobunaga said she left the Sengoku era...

'And when she does, I'll be here waiting for her.' Isshin thought as he made his way back to his room so that he could continue reading his niece's diary. Of course, once Ayako was back safe and sound, he was going to give her a real scolding for making him worry. Something like one hundred laps around the temple grounds might be enough.

Author's note:

I'm sorry it took me so long to update for awhile, but school doesn't let me have any time to breathe sometimes, and I'm probably going to be really busy again soon... I also started feeling like I needed a little break from this story, but don't worry, I'm not stopping, I just probably won't be updating as quickly as I usually do, and I started a new Mouryou no Hako fanfic to help me have something else to think about, since that sometimes helps with my writer's block. I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story! ^_^